Niccolo Machiavelli

humanism

focus on humankind as center of intellectual and artistic endeavor; method of study that emphasized the superiority of classical forms over medieval styles, in particular the study of ancient languages.

Northern Renaissance

cultural and intellectual movement of northern Europe; began later than Italian Renaissance around 1450; centered in France, Low Countries, England, and German; featured greater emphasis on religion than Italian Renaissance.

European-style family

Martin Luther

(1483-1546) German monk; initiated Protestant Reformation in 1517 by nailing 95 theses to door to Wittenberg church; emphasized primacy of faith over works stressed in Catholic church; accepted state control of church.

Protestantism

Anglican church

form of Protestantism set up in England after 1534; established by Henry VIII with himself as head, at least in part to obtain a divorce from his first wife; became increasingly Protestant following Henry's death.

Jean Calvin

French Protestant (16th century) who stressed doctrine of predestination; established canter of his group at Swiss canton of Geneva; encouraged ideas of wider access to government, wider public education; Calvinism spread from Switzerland to northern Europe and North America.

Edict of Nantes

Thirty Years War

war within the Holy Roman Empire between German Protestants and their allies (Sweden, Denmark, France) and the emperor and his ally, Spain; ended in 1648 after great destruction with Treaty of Westphalia.

Treaty of Westphalia

English Civil War

conflict from 1640 to 1660; featured religious disputes mixed with constitutional issues concerning the powers of the monarchy; ended with restoration of the monarchy in 1660 following execution of previous king.

proletariat

class of working people without access to producing property; typically manufacturing workers, paid laborers in agricultural economy, or urban poor; in Europe, product of economic changes of 16th and 17th centuries.

William Harvey

Francis Bacon

(22 January 1561 - 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, author, and scientist. He was an influential member of the scientific revolution, and is best known for work on the scientific method.

René Descartes

Isaac Newton

(1643-1727) English scientist; author of Principia Mathematica; drew together astronomical and physical observations and wider theories into a neat framework of natural laws; established principles of motion; defined forces of gravity.

deism

John Locke

(1632-1704) English philosopher who argued that people could learn everything through senses and reason and that power of government came from the people, not from divine right of kings; offered possibility of revolution to overthrow tyrants.

absolute monarchy

concept of government developed during rise of nation-states in western Europe during the 17th century; featured monarchs who passed laws without parliaments, appointed professionalized armies and bureaucracies, established state churched, imposed state economic policies.

parliamentary monarchy

Frederick the Great

Prussian king of the 18th century; attempted to introduce Enlightenment reforms into Germany; built on military and bureaucratic foundations of his predecessors; introduced freedom of religion; increased state control of economy.

Enlightenment

intellectual movement centered in France during the 18th century; featured scientific advance, application of scientific methods to study of human society; belief that rational laws could describe social behavior.

Mary Wollstonecraft

mass consumerism

refers to the spread of deep interest in acquiring material goods and services spreading below elite levels, along with a growing economy capacity to afford some of these goods. While hints of mass consumerism can be found in several premodern societies, it developed most clearly, beginning in western Europe, from the 18th century onward.

Boccaccio and Petrarch

4 Impacts of Italian Renaissance

1. military tactics because of wars in city-states.
2. leaders justified their authority of the general well-being of the city-state.
3. city-states introduce a regular exchange of ambassadors.
4. merchants improved banking techniques.

Lutheranism

Elizabeth I

Calvinism

sought the participation of all believers in church administration which had political implications of encouraging the ideal of wider access to the government; strong in Switzerland, parts of Germany & France, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland.